The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

Perhaps more resembling the foot of Voltron (the vehicle one, not the lions) than an actual car, I love the Smart. It can zoom right into the space between two SUVs nearly touching bumpers. It’s designed by Swatch, a company best known for making cheap plastic watches. And you can actually switch lanes on a freeway by driving under the carriage of a passing semi-trailer.

Unfortunately, up to now, it’s only been available to Euroweenies. But good news! It’s coming to the States by 2008, to become the next vehicular craze of America’s vast armada of environmentally-friendly hipsters.

There’s other cool things you can do to a Smart besides drive it. For example, it can be propelled into the air by affixing the low end of a see-saw underneath the bumper and then having two of your friends jump on the other side. It’s perfect to stuff full of clowns. With the tires removed, it makes an excellent shoe for an extremely fat person. And so on.